Italy’s prime minister Giorgia Meloni says Algerian Imane Khelif’s Olympics boxing victory over Italian Angela Carini was “not even a contest”.
Khelif, 25, has previously been disqualified the World Boxing Championships by the International Boxing Association after failing testosterone and gender eligibility tests.
However, she was allowed to compete at Paris 2024 due to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) does not follow the same rules.
In her first match, the Algerian won after only 46 seconds after Carini withdrew due to a suspected broken nose, adding that she had never been hit so hard after being punched in the nose by her opponent.
Algeria’s Olympic Committee (COA) have slammed the “baseless” attacks on their fighter’s involvment but Italy’s PM says allowing boxers with increased male characteristics compete risks affecting women’s rights.
Meloni said: “I think that athletes who have male genetic characteristics should not be admitted to women’s competitions.
“And not because you want to discriminate against someone, but to protect the right of female athletes to be able to compete on equal terms.”
The Italian leader added: “I regret it [Carini’s withdrawal] even more. I was emotional yesterday when she wrote ‘I will fight’ because the dedication, the head, the character, surely also play a role in these things.
“But then it also matters to be able to compete on equal grounds and from my point of view it was not an even contest.”
Meanwhile, the debate is set to continue when Lin Yu-ting of Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) competes against Uzbekistan’s Sitora Turdibekova in the 57kg event on Friday.
Lin was stripped of her bronze medal at the World Championships after she failed to meet the organisers’ criteria.
